NASA's RNA World Experiments and the Matter World Hypothesis: A Comprehensive Critique

The RNA World Hypothesis (RWH), positing that self-replicating RNA molecules were the precursors to life, has been a cornerstone of NASA’s Astrobiology and Exobiology programs. Despite extensive research, no NASA-funded project has achieved a fully autonomous, self-replicating RNA-based protocell, revealing significant limitations. Reza Hashemi’s Matter World Hypothesis (MWH), detailed in multiple 2025 eBooks (Hashemi, 2025a, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15478747; Hashemi, 2025f, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15437057; Hashemi, 2025o, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15290482; Hashemi, 2025p, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15243999), proposes a synergistic model involving RNA, DNA, peptides, lipids, carbohydrates, polyphosphates, and catalysts. This critique evaluates NASA’s major RNA World experiments, their methodologies, failures, and implications, while integrating MWH’s insights, particularly from Hashemi (2025p), to propose a more robust framework for life’s origins.